Richard bradshaw



"- BRADSHAW.

BED BOTTOM FABRIC.

APPLICATION min JULY 22. 1918.

1,367,012. 7 Patented Feb; 1, I921.

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UNITED STATES RICHARD BRADSHAW, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

BED-BOTTOM FABRIC.

Application filed July 22, 1918.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RICHARD BRADSHAW, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Bottom Fabrics, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in bed bottom fabrics and the object of the invention is to provide a fabric of extremely simple and durable construction, requiring a minimum amount of material.

A. further object is to provide a fabric which will not sag with continued use.

Still another object is to provide a fabric of the link type so constructed that the springs connecting it with the frame will always be uniformly disposed, thus impartinga smooth upper surface to the fabric.

At the present time, link fabrics used for bed bottoms are constructed of a number of short links connected end to end and extending longitudinally of the bed bot-tom frame. These links are then connected by transverse links. The longitudinal links are connected together by merely bending or crimping the end of one link through the other, and it has been found in practice that even with a double wire, these ends open up in time, with the result that the fabric acquires a permanent sag. The shape of these links is usually diverse at opposite ends and therefore diverse at opposite ends of the fabric, with the re sult that unless specially formed springs are used. and great care exercised in assembling the fabric, the springs or fabric are twisted at one end of the bed bottom, imparting a ragged appearance and uneven surface.

According to this invention, individual longitudinallink-s are completely eliminated and continuous longitudinal wires used extending from end to end of the fabric. These wires are looped at regular intervals and connected preferably by the usual transverse links, but a somewhat cheaper fabric may be constructed by. the use of corrugated wires extending continuously the width of the fabric.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention;-

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a bed bottom fabric.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the fabric, on the line 2--2, Fig. 1.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

Serial No. 246,122.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional. view of a fabric using continuous transverse wires.

Fig. 41 is a plan view of one of the transverse links before insertion.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a fragment of one of the continuous longitudinal wires.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 11 designates the end frames of a bed bottom fabric, which are provided at intervals with apertures 12, through which the 'hooked ends of helical springs 13 pass. Op-

posite ends of these springs are provided with hooks 1 1 for attachment to the bottom fabric proper.

According to this invention, the fabric comprises a series of longitudinal wires 15 looped on themselves at regular intervals to form eyes 1.6. Toward the extremities of the wires similar eyes, (:lesignated 17, are formed, "through which the hooks 14 of the springs engage. A short length of wire 18 is left beyond each of these end eyes 17 and this length of wire is preferably located within the spring to prevent the eye opening under tension. If desired, this extension 18 may be eliminated and the end of the wir fastened or knotted in any suitable way to prevent the end eyes 17 opening. In building up the fabric, the longitudinal wires are preferably disposed with the eyes 17 lying flat. Short transverse links 19, having downturned extremities 20, are then applied;

the downturned extremities being passed through the eyes 16 and clenched on the under side of the fabric, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The eyes 16 are preferably of only sufficient size to accommodate the two links which pass through them. In this way, the links completely fill the eyes and prevent the eyes being drawn smaller by tension of the longitudinal. wires, .so that the longitudinal wires will not acquire a sag. The loops or eyes 16 may be formedin the center line of the wire, as shown in Fig. 1, by forming a slight offset 21. in the wire on each side of the loop, or the eyes may be formed all on one side of the wire, as shown in Fig. 5. The eyes themselves, especially when formed as in Fig. 1, will provide a slight resiliency in the wire and it is obvious that the wire will give quite as much flexibility in the longitudinal direction of the fabric as is obtained from a link structure. The transverse connecting links permit the longitudinal wires to be independently flexed.

It has been'stated that continuous trans 7 construction, it is preferable to form the eyes all on the lower side of the wires after the manner shown in Fig. 5. The transverse wires 22 may be provided with any suitable number of corrugations per foot, so that the corrugations may have the same spacing as the longitudinal wires or may have a shorter spacing, so that there will be one or more corrugations between each pair 01" longitudinal Wires.

In any event the corrugations of the transverse wires should be spaced with re gard to the spacing of the longitudinal wires, so that the eyes of the longitudinal wires will engage in the corrugations, as clearly shown in Fig. 8, so that the transverse Wires will hold the longitudinal wires in parallelism. A straight transverse wire could of course be used but is not considered practical, as it neither holds the transverse wires against spreading nor has the necessary flexibility. .VVhile it has been stated that the horizontally disposed eyes are used with the transverse links and the vertically disposed eyes with the continuous transverse Wires, it must be understood that the invention is not limited to these combinations and that the order may be reversed if desired, also that the eyes may be arranged at any inclination.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that an extremely strong fabric is produced, which will not acquire a permanent sag and which has the great advantage of requiring much less wire and labor for its construction than the ordinary link fabric. The eyes at the ends of the fabric are disposed in the same plane, so that the helical springs will hook on uniformly at both ends and the finished product will have a smooth surface and appearance of uniformity. which is highly desirable.

l aving thus described my invention. what I claim is A. bed bottom comprising a frame. helical springs attached to the ends of the frame. and a link fabric stretched between the springs at opposite ends of the frame including a plurality of longitudinal singlestrand members each extending between corresponding springs at opposite ends oi the frame and each looped at regular intervals throughout its length. said loops being arranged in rows extending at right angles to the looped members and links disposed at right angles to the looped members and passing through the loops of adjacent members, whereby each longitudinal member is connected at each loop thereof to the adjacent member, said links holding the loops against decrease in size due to tension in the members.

' In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RICHARD BRADSHAW. 

